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Feb 06, 2020 14:00pm

Order Is Important

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For my grandparents wedding anniversary, we ordered them a glider for their porch. Of course, there was some assembly required.

I decided to put it together all by myself. I pulled out the pieces, laid them out and grabbed the instructions. I read through and thought, “OK, I’ve got this.”

My grandfather helped me some, but it was hot outside, and I’m not the easiest person to give instructions to when the temperature is boiling. So, he checked on the puppies in the kennel.

While he was gone, I was on a mission. I was going to get it all done by myself before he got back. So, I started grabbing screws and quickly getting the pieces into place. I had already looked over the instructions, so I was pretty confident.

But…

Well, anytime you see that word, you know something happened, right?

Twice I messed up the order of something that needed to be placed. I had already screwed in the hardware, so I had to go back and take it off and redo it. The second time I did it, I looked at the piece and realized it was wrong and I thought, “Um, would it still work if I left it like this?” And of course, my answer was no.

The glider would not glide. The instructions had a certain order to go in for a reason.

Order is important.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day,” (Genesis 1:2-5).

What do you notice in this passage?

What is giving off the light when the sun, moon and stars hadn’t been created yet?

Order is important.

Look at cultures around the world. Many worship gods of the sun, moon and stars. They are worshiping the creation and not the Creator.

God created the light first because He is the giver of light. He is the only one worthy of our worship and adoration.

He shines brighter than the sun.

Order is important.

In our spiritual walk with the Lord, order is still important. Salvation itself has order.

1. First, there is the Word – knowledge of the Creator and His creation.

Perhaps you have read scripture and have begun to realize who God is. Or maybe you recognized God is the Creator of everything in the world. Or maybe someone told you about Jesus, a man you never had known (Romans 1:19-20).

2. Secondly, there is conviction.

This comes from the Holy Spirit. It can be described as realizing sin exists in your life and it is a part of you.

Conviction is knowing you are a sinner.

Conviction is feeling the weight of your actions and bearing down on you – and the wages of those sins are death (Romans 6:23).

3. Third, there is Hope. You discover that although you must pay for your sins, Jesus has already stepped in and paid the price. Jesus died to pay for your sins (Romans 5:8).

4. Fourth, if you confess your sins, repent and trust in Jesus as your Savior, you can be saved from eternal death and hell (1 John 1:19, John 3:16).

5. Finally, once you have surrendered your life and made Jesus your Lord and Savior, you declare it to those around you in His local church through baptism – it’s the natural next step.

It does not save you because it’s an act of man because the Holy Spirit saves you. But, baptism declares your trust in Christ.

If baptism washes away your sins, why was Jesus baptized? He was sinless. He was declaring who He was and the authority of God in His life (Acts 2:38, Luke 3:21-22).

Order is important.

Have you taken the steps to trust Jesus Christ? Maybe you have never known exactly what to do. Today is the day of salvation my friends.

Turn to Jesus!